Interested in becoming an HHA C.A.N.D.Y. Cafe facilitator?
Are you a community leader or care professional who works with children, teens and young adults?
Among other professionals, we welcome educators who have newly graduated from Teacher’s College, are in the midst of their career, or who have retired - if you already have a foundation working with young people and are passionate about helping them navigate their feelings and thoughts about dying, death and grief, then we want to hear from you!
Our training prepares C.A.N.D.Y. Cafe facilitators specifically in how to engage with kids, teens and young adults about dying, death and grief. We look at how cognitive capacity and response to the concept of death differ among different age groups, and how - despite individual differences - certain general understandings can help us to successfully communicate with a young person.
About C.A.N.D.Y. Cafe
Creating Awareness and Normalizing Death for Youth (C.A.N.D.Y.) came about because a young person wanted to know why she couldn’t attend an adult Death Café with her mother. That ultimately inspired us to create a death education program for young people, including our Death Café designed specifically for people aged 10-18 (currently called “Real Talk: Exploring Dying, Death & Grief with Young People”).
An important part of our programming for young people is that, while they attend their event, the adult(s) in their life will take part in a Parents & Guardians Death Café.
Objectives:
That young people:
1) Explore why it’s important to talk about dying, death, and grief.
2) Feel safe enough to share with their peers some of their thoughts and feelings about dying, death, and grief verbally, in writing, or both.
3) Explore why the adults in their life might not be comfortable talking about dying, death, and grief.
4) Feel more comfortable talking about dying, death, and grief with the adults in their life.
5) Feel confident that when they experience death in life, they will have some tools to help them grieve in a healthy way.
Training Application - Steps
1) Fill in an online application.
2) You’ll be contacted by an HHA representative for a phone interview.
3) You’ll receive a C.A.N.D.Y. Café Handbook and Code of Conduct.
4) You’ll participate in the “Talking with Kids about Dying, Death & Grief” Certificate Program and facilitator training.
Commitment
As this is a volunteer position, it's up to you to decide on the level of commitment that you’re comfortable with. We ask that you communicate your intentions clearly with us (and keep us posted if these change) and that you reliably prepare for and attend any events that you agree to facilitate.
The number of C.A.N.D.Y. Cafe events that we offer you will depend on the demand for this program and how many volunteers are engaged at any given time.